PROTECT YOUR PC!

Actively cleans malware found during installation. Can install or scan in Safe Mode. Top scorer in malware-removal and malware-blocking tests. Now includes ThreatFire behavior-based technology. Power-saving mode. Game mode.

Cons
Full scan takes longer than some. May report valid files as suspicious.

By Neil J. RubenkingGuards Against Malware
Spyware Doctor installs a gaggle of guard components to block malware at every level. Site Guard blocks access to Web sites known to host malware. The new Browser Guard analyzes Web pages and scripts in real time to block scareware sites and sites hosting drive-by downloads.

The Download Guard component is still in beta, but users can obtain it from www.pctools.com/labs. This component scans all downloaded files and immediately quarantines any it deems malicious. It doesn't modify the browser's download dialog the way Ad-Aware does or replace it the way ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2010 does. It just works in the background and pops up when it blocks malware.

I tried re-downloading my entire collection of malware and keylogger samples to see these features in action. Many of the URLs are no longer valid; of those still functioning, Site Guard blocked three quarters of the malware sites but none of the keylogger sites. Download Guard blocked just one of the malware samples that got past Site Guard but blocked almost half the keyloggers. And this is just the first line of defense.

The File Guard module checks every file on access and, if the file isn't whitelisted, runs a complete scan. Rather than ask the user what to do with found malware, File Guard takes action immediately and gives the user a brief veto opportunity. A new Email Guard scans and cleans malicious attachments at the protocol level.

New in this edition, Behavior Guard uses ThreatFire technology to keep an eye on any unknown programs as they execute. If it detects a definite pattern of malicious activity it will block the program and display a warning. Behavior Guard will also warn of merely suspicious behavior and ask what to do; I found that it sometimes reported valid programs as suspicious.

To see just how effective this gaggle of guards can be, I attempted to launch my collection of pre-downloaded samples. Some products scan a file at the minimal access that occurs when Windows Explorer displays a file's data. File Guard waits for a mouse click, so I clicked on each sample. Within a few minutes, Spyware Doctor wiped out over 90 percent of the malware samples and 70 percent of the keylogger samples; that's a great start.

When I launched the few remaining samples, other guards came into play to block almost all of them. In the blocking test Spyware Doctor detected 97 percent of the malware samples, as did Norton, Prevx 3.0 and BitDefender Total Security 2010. Spyware Doctor also set a new record in the malware blocking test, scoring 9.7 of 10 possible points and edging out Norton, which had 9.6 points. BitDefender and Prevx with 9.4 got pushed to a shared third place.

Spyware Doctor detected 90 percent of the keylogger samples and scored 8.5 points at keylogger blocking, beaten only by Prevx's score of 8.9 points. Spyware Doctor detected 100 percent of the rootkit samples; its rootkit-blocking score of 9.4 points is another new record. Along with seven other products Spyware Doctor scored a perfect 10 against scareware, completely blocking every sample.

Spyware Doctor ousts our previous Editors' Choice, the cloud-based behavior-centric Prevx 3.0. It scored better overall, and unlike Prevx it can function without an Internet connection. The latest Spyware Doctor proved effective in every area of malware removal and blocking. It's a great product.

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